Mr Dick Spring plans to put forward a private member's Bill to extend Seanad representation to new universities, the Dublin Institute of Technology, the regional technical colleges and some private colleges.
The 1937 Constitution allowed three Seanad seats to graduates of Dublin University and three to graduates of the National University of Ireland. A little-known constitutional amendment in 1979 allowed the six university seats to be filled by representatives from other higher education institutions.
The effect of Mr Spring's Bill, which will be published on Tuesday, will be to extend the franchise for the university seats to every student, employee - academic and non-academic - and graduate of any institution which has a degree course approved by a university within the State or by the National Council for Educational Awards.
This would bring the larger private colleges into the franchise.
The former Labour Party leader proposes that at every future Seanad election, all institutions of higher education should be grouped together as a single constituency for the election of six members.
That would give about 100,000 students and 10,000 staff members the vote for the first time. They would certainly outnumber the small number of graduates who vote in Seanad elections at present.
Mr Spring said yesterday he hoped the Bill would come up for debate in private members' time in February. He said he "found it hard to see any party opposing it."